5 Questions with founder of Longmont's Bavarian Bakery

Michael Vyskocil grew up in Austria and fell in love with baking at young age. Decades later, he made his way to Longmont, opening the Bavarian Bakery, on North Coffman street in 1987. He moved it to 613 Frontage Road in 1992.

He got his start baking hundreds of loaves of bread for Alfalfas and King Soopers, his bakers, to this day, working through the night behind the brightly flowered storefront that serves pastries to a local clientele.

After weathering the dark years of the Great Recession, Vyskocil is rebuilding his business and celebrating the bakery's 30th Anniversary. Earlier this year he added a wood-fired pizza operation and now has, for the first time, a liquor license.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did you come to learn the bakery trade:

A: I grew up outside Vienna and got a job in baking in Bavaria and fell in love with it. It was easy for me.

Q:How did your commercial bakery business get started?

A: When I first started, I was baking for Alfalfas in Boulder and got in the door with King Soopers. I used all organic ingredients and now I sell kosher and gluten free breads. All use the best ingredients.

Q: A lot of small businesses struggled during the Great Recession. What was it like at the Bavarian Bakery.

A: It was really difficult. We had some legal issues and almost lost our building, but we had a local investor, Jim Kreitman, who really believed in us and came through with financing when we really needed it.

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Q. You have a big menu for a pastry shop. How is the restaurant side growing?

A: People love our pizza dough and it has allowed us to expand our dinner menu. People have started coming from all over because of the pizza.

Q. What's next for the Bavarian Bakery?

A. Our dinner business is growing and we have applied for and have been approved to get our first liquor license. We're expect to be able to begin serving any day now.

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